Sugar and Spice
by Brightki
Summary: Hermione finds a new coffee shop between her flat and the university that she begins frequenting after her classes. Unbeknownst to her, a certain tall dark and handsome barista has become interested in her.


A/N: So this little coffee house AU wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it and I blame colubrina and dulce-de-leche-go for enabling me. :D LOL I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

It was a lovely sunny day when Hermione Granger stepped into the coffee shop just down the street from her flat at around three o'clock on a Thursday afternoon.

She made her way over to the register, glancing around to spot a potential seat while waiting her turn behind the only other person in line (a large cinnamon dolce latte with extra whip cream) before stepping up to order.

When she looked up, her eyes widened at the tall – _very_ tall – and very good-looking man behind the counter. He was so tall that her head tilted back to look up at him, but maybe it was only because she was rather on the short side. Either way, he had about six inches on her, and he was looking down at her with a bored expression on his face.

"What can I get for you?" His voice was soft but deep. _Pleasant_ , she thought.

"Oh! Sorry - uhm, can I get a large iced soy chai, please?"

The barista scooped up a cup and scribbles a few marks on the side, the tip of his tongue poking from his pale pink lips just slightly before he glanced back at her again. "Name?"

Hermione blinked at him in confusion, "Uhm. Hermione?"

His dark brow quirked at her before he wrote on the top of the cup. He then passed it over to the blonde woman whom Hermione hadn't even noticed because she barely stood taller than the espresso machine on the counter that she was leaning on. The blonde started making Hermione's drink while Tall and Bored but Pretty rang her up.

"Would you like a scone or chocolate chip cookie to go with that today?"

Hermione shook her head, digging her card out to pay. Her hazel eyes shot to his name tag – _Theo, interesting name_ – when he handed her the card and a receipt, just before he turned and walked away from the counter.

She sighed and stepped to the side, smiling at the blonde women when she slid her cup onto the pickup station. The other woman just arched a brow and snapped her bright pink gum in return.

"Thanks." Hermione grabbed her cup and a straw and then walked over to a table. Digging her laptop from her bag, she set it on the table and popped it open before glancing at her cup as she unwrapped the straw. Sticking it into the top of the lid, she did a double-take and then looked again at the name written on the cup.

 _Perdita._

Before she left a few hours later, she looked for the man behind the counter, but he was nowhere to be seen.

. . . . .

The following Tuesday, around the same time, Hermione walked back into the same coffee shop, before blinking in surprise at the packed building. There wasn't much of a line, she must have missed the rush, but almost every seat was taken.

Peeking out the closest window, there were a few tables left outside and while sunny, it was comfortably warm. Making up her mind, Hermione stepped into place and waited her turn.

Today, the blonde woman was behind the register, and once Hermione made it to the front and was spotted, her green eyes narrowed slightly. "What can I get for you?"

"Can I please get a large iced soy chai and a cinnamon scone?" Hermione smiled, shifting her bag as she dug out her wallet to pay. She could make out the other woman's name today, Daphne.

"Sure thing. Name?"

"Hermione, please."

A few soft squeaks of marker on plastic and the cup was set to the side, and Hermione was rung up. She stepped out of the way of the person behind her, waiting patiently as another blonde, this one with large blue eyes and what looks like radish earrings, made the drinks.

Daphne handed Hermione her scone before disappearing into what must be the backroom. The ditzy looking blonde peered at her drink before piping up with a clear, high voice, "Hermione please?"

Hermione smiled and reached out to take the cup. "That's me, thank you!"

The second blonde, name tag proclaiming LUNA in some kind of purple glitter, smiled brightly as she passed the brunette the cup. "Oh, you're Hermione! Enjoy the large iced soy chai and a cinnamon scone!"

Hermione blinked at her slowly before edging away with bag and cup clutched in her hands. "I will, thank you."

Taking a moment to shove a straw into her cup before she walked out to a shaded table, she glanced at her cup in curiosity. There is her name – _Hermione please._ She let out a soft laugh before setting up her laptop and digging out a notepad filled edge to edge with notations.

Working quietly while nibbling at her scone, Hermione barely noticed the time as the sun edged ever so slowly towards the horizon. Pushing her empty cup away, she stretched and sighed deeply while glancing around the patio.

The not-ditzy-looking barista, Daphne, was cleaning up the outside seating when she passed by Hermione. "What are you working on if you don't mind my asking?"

Hermione looked up in surprise from her notebook. "Oh! Well, I'm working on a book."

Daphne's neatly manicured brow twitched. "That's interesting." It didn't sound interesting nor did Daphne sound interested; Hermione figured she probably heard at least a dozen other people a day say 'I'm writing a book.'

The brunette laughed a little and shrugged, glancing at her notes as she flipped the top-most page over, then back again. "I suppose. It's not a regular book; it'll be a part of a textbook, actually. So, this is going to be a chapter on the use of spectroscopy in the molecular environment to determine bonding." She paused and looked up at Daphne's blank face. "Oh, uh, I'm a molecular physicist."

Daphne nodded a few times before backing away to the door. "Well, good luck! Better get to work." With that, she disappeared back inside the building, and Hermione could barely make out her form moving behind the counter and making a beeline for the swinging door to the backroom.

"Weird." She sighed and turned back to her laptop and notebook, taking a sip of vaguely chai-flavored melted ice.

. . . . .

The following two weeks were the same. Every Tuesday and Thursday around three o'clock, Hermione would stop in the coffee shop on the way back to her flat from the university.

And every Tuesday, Daphne would ask her a random question or two about her work before disappearing into the back of the shop. Every Thursday, Theo would be at the register to ring her up.

The fourth Tuesday had a change when Hermione pushed through the door to find Theo standing behind the counter; his eyes fastened on her as she walked into the shop.

She stopped in surprise, hazel eyes widening momentarily before she approached the counter. Unusually, there was only an older man in one corner of the store, buried behind a newspaper, other than herself and the baristas. Daphne was talking to the tall black man who was wearing the drive-through headset, and Theo's eyes were still glued to Hermione as she moved up to the counter.

A flush was creeping across her cheeks and down the back of her neck as she swallowed, before raising her eyes to meet Theo's. His were a stormy blue and intense as he focused on her.

"Welcome back."

Hermione's eyes widened again, just slightly, as she leaned against the counter. "Oh, thank you."

Theo's head tilted slightly as he continued to look down at her before he dragged his tongue across his – _incredibly lush, kissable_ – lips slowly. A flash of metal draws her eyes to his mouth like a magnet. "The usual?"

This caused her eyes to snap back to his in surprise. "The usual? What's my usual, then?"

His lips quirked, a crooked little smirk full of smug assurance. "Large iced soy chai and a cinnamon scone."

Her eyes narrowed at him as she shifted her weight to one leg. "Oh, you think you've gotten to know me, huh?"

Theo's smirk faded a little, that intense look coming back to his face. "I would say so."

She tilted her head back as she leaned forward a bit, her hands sliding along the top of the counter lightly. "Well, I have to admit that you're right. I don't care for very much for change. And I know what I like." Her small pink tongue poked out slightly as she licked her lips, her gaze still focused on his.

His eyes had flicked down to her mouth before he leaned towards her, his hands sliding forward until the tips of his long fingers brushed against hers. "I get off at four. Would you like to get a cup of coffee with me?"

Hermione could feel the smile pulling at her lips as she ducked her head, glancing at their interlaced fingertips before looking back up at him. "I would have thought you'd be fed up with coffee."

"Well, sure. But I've also become fairly addicted and need it to survive the day." He paused, his eyes searching her face for a moment. "Is it a date?"

Her brows arched slightly as she nodded. "Blunt and to the point." Her lips parted as she leans in and brushes them against his jaw; the reach between his height and the counter between them making it difficult to reach any further. "It's a date. You know where to find me."

Theo grinned a bit foolishly, pulling back a little to nod. "I'll be here. One hour." He rang up her drink and the scone before making it for her as well, handing her the cup with a smile. "See you shortly."

Hermione grinned back, just as foolishly, as she gathered her things and moved over to a table by the window. She couldn't keep herself from looking back at him a few times, resulting in her running into a thankfully empty chair before she got herself settled at the table.

Behind the counter, she could see the other man clap Theo on the back as Daphne bounced on the balls of her feet. Narrowing her eyes at the other woman, Hermione muttered, "I think I've been played."

. . . . .

At 4:02pm, Theo walked over to the table where Hermione was sitting, carrying another of her iced chai drinks in one hand and a white cup in the other. She watched him come closer as she pushed her laptop and notebook out of the way and accepted the cup he handed her with a smile. "Well, thank you."

He shrugged as he dropped gracefully into the chair across from her with a sigh, tugging his hat off and running a hand through his hair, ruffling it up. "What would a coffee date be without a drink?"

Hermione laughed softly as she took a sip of her drink, watching him from under her lashes for a long moment before he looked up at her. She wiggled in her chair with a blush, glancing away at her notebook before looking to him again, his grin widening as she met his eyes.

There was a long moment of awkward silence as they just looked at each other, when suddenly, from the counter, the tall black barista called out, "Just snog her and get it done with, mate!" He and Daphne burst out with laughter while Theo glared at them, his pale cheeks turning a particularly vivid red.

"Wankers." He grumbled before looking to her, a little pleadingly. "I'm sorry about Blaise; he's just… a total idiot, honestly. Do you want to go somewhere else?"

She laughed again and shook her head before reaching out and resting her hand over his wrist. "No, it's ok, really. They're just being good friends." She grinned a little as her short nails scraped lightly against his skin. " _They_ have been subtly questioning me for the past two weeks. Did _you_ ask them to?"

Her eyes flicked back up to his, her grin widening as she saw that his gaze was fastened on their hands.

"I mentioned that you were pretty to Pansy, and she started it. She's a bit protective of her friends." Theo's eyes moved up her bare arm and to her eyes, the stormy grey-blue darkened to slate. "And you really are; pretty, that is. Beautiful."

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked up at him, frozen as his hand twisted around, and he laced his fingers through hers. She could only watch as he pulled her hand to his mouth, pressing his lips to her knuckles lightly, before she jolted at the feel of his tongue – and that smooth metal ball – graze the crease between her middle and ring fingers.

He grinned, cocking his head as he watched her gaping at him in surprise before she seemed to shake herself and smirked, her freckled nose wrinkling at him. "Oh, you are very forward, aren't you? I don't even know your name beyond what's on your name tag."

"Theodore Nott, at your service." He chuckled, his thumb rubbing a steady circle against her palm.

Hermione sighed softly, her hand relaxing and falling limp in his hold, as she smiled slowly. "Nott, hm? Well, my name is Hermione Granger."

Theo smiled down at her, fingers still steadily stroking her skin. "It's wonderful to meet you, Hermione."

"And you, too, Theo." Her eyes searched his face for a long moment before she leaned over the much smaller table and kissed his cheek.

. . . . .

They sat at the coffee house table for almost two more hours, chatting about everything. Hermione explained about working on the textbook and her doctoral studies, about her best friends since childhood were already married and starting families, and about her elderly parents retiring from their dental practice.

Theo was a little more reluctant to talk about his family, mentioning that his father still lived in the house he had grown up in but that his mother had passed away when he was still quite small. He opened up more about his friends, especially the ones he worked with at the coffee shop. Blaise and Daphne were dating while Luna was seeing a guy who was some kind of zookeeper.

Hermione was a bit surprised when she found out that Theo had a business degree and that he wasn't just a barista, he owned and operated the coffee house. He said that it wasn't what he had planned on as a kid, but he hadn't wanted to work in the same line of business as his father the older he got, and once he had graduated, decided to use his inheritance from his mother's family to purchase and redecorate the coffee shop, and was particularly pleased with the amount of business that it was doing.

After that day, Theo and Hermione went on four dates in the next week and a half.

On Thursday, they met for coffee again and spent three hours chatting in one of the corners.

On Saturday, they went out for dinner at a nice restaurant and walked through a park afterward.

They met for lunch on Monday, as Hermione had a large break between two of her classes and Theo was off on Mondays.

On Thursday, Theo sat with her after his shift again and they chatted together for hours until they decided dinner was no longer a suggestion, but a requirement.

Hermione looked up at Theo after she had gathered her notebook and laptop, tucking them away into her bag. "Would you like to eat at my flat? We can pick something up on the way there and have some peace?"

Theo glanced over her shoulders where Blaise and Pansy were hovering around the register, pretending to not be trying to eavesdrop on the couple's conversation before looking back down to her with a smile. "I'd like that a lot."

She returned his smile and after gathering her bag, she led him from the shop and on the short walk to her flat. On the way, they stopped and picked up a bag full of Indian food. With the fragrant scent of curry floating between them, they hurried to her flat to eat.

Hermione glanced at him bashfully before letting him in, closing and locking the door behind him as she kicked off her shoes beside a pretty wooden shoe stand. "Please get comfortable, I'll just grab some plates. We can eat in here." She set her work bag down in an armchair pushed into the corner, before carrying the bag of food off into the small kitchen just through the open doorway.

Theo glanced around as he shed his shoes and outer work shirt. He poked around for a moment, smiling at the large bookcase, about two-thirds full of science books while the rest were other academic subject references. He eyed the pictures sitting on a nearby shelf – one of Hermione with two much older people ( _must be here parents_ , he thought), one with Hermione and a group of girls, and another with Hermione and two boys, one black-haired and one red-haired.

"Those are my best friends I've told you about, Harry and Ron. Ron is the redhead." Hermione had walked back in with two plates full of delicious smelling food and was watching him look around with a smile on her face.

He looked over to her with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I was just curious."

"No, please! Don't be sorry, that's what they're up for. To be looked at." She laughed and set their plates down on the table before walking back towards the kitchen again. "Anything to drink?"

"Just water for me, please?" Theo walked back over to the couch and settled down onto the cushions, waiting for Hermione to come back into the living room.

After just a few moments, Hermione reappeared with two bottles of water and handed one to him before sinking to the floor. "Come down here and sit beside him." She patted the floor before looking up (and up) to him with a smile.

Theo chuckled and slid down the couch to sit on the floor beside her with a smirk. "Can't say I've eaten Indian food on the floor of my girlfriend's living room before."

Hermione looked up at him with a teasing smile, "Oh? And who is this girlfriend you speak of?"

Theo turned and narrowed his eyes are her. "You wouldn't know her, she's a terrible swot. One of those science girls, you know the type."

She looked at him with large eyes, her mouth open in surprise, before she reached out and swatted his arm while laughing. "That's just rude!"

He grinned and leaned over, hesitating for just a moment before kissing her lightly. It was soft and chaste, and he lingered for a longer moment than strictly necessary, but when he pulled back, Hermione was smiling softly, her eyes still closed.

"Let's eat this delicious dinner before it gets cold." He nudges her forehead with his nose before sitting up and digging in.

Hermione just laughed and swatted him again before happily eating her own food as well. They ate mostly in silence, occasionally leaning against one another's side or nudging elbows, until they were both full and laid back against the side of the couch.

"That was just delicious. Thank you for dinner." Hermione turned her head and smiled up at Theo, who smiled back.

"Of course, love. Here, I'll clean up." He hopped up and gathered the plates before she could protest, taking them into the kitchen. He washed the dishes, setting them in the drainer to dry before wandering back into the living room.

Hermione was stretched out on the couch, one arm hanging off the side and the other curled around her head. It stretched and arched her back just enough that Theo's eyes lingered on the gentle swell of her breasts under her shirt before he got close enough to lean down and kiss her forehead.

"I should get going, I guess…" He lingered, looking down at her.

Hermione's eyes drifted half-open, and she reached out, curling an arm around his neck with a soft whine, "Nooo. Stay, please?"

"Are you sure?" Theo hesitated, looking down into her eyes with a small frown.

"Yes. Stay." Hermione leaned up and pressed her lips to his, before squirming back onto the couch to allow him room to stretch out as well.

He huffed a soft laugh and settled on the couch, curling his arms around her shoulder. "If you insist."

With a hum of satisfaction, Hermione laid her head on his arm and snuggled into his chest. They laid quietly for a long time, the only sound the soft _whirr_ of the fan in the corner. She murmured quietly after a bit, "You're so warm. And you smell so good."

Theo laughed a little, his fingers stroking her bare arm lightly. "I smell like coffee. You smell good. All clean and sweet and spice."

"Sugar and spice and everything nice?" She laughed softly and peered up at him in the dim lighting.

"Yes, exactly." He leaned down and kissed her, his lips softly stroking hers. "Sugar and spice, everything nice. You're so sweet." He kisses her again, harder, his tongue brushing against her lips.

Hermione let out a soft moan at the touch of his tongue before opening her lips to him. Their tongues brushed against the other's, as their hands began stroking and touching skin where ever possible.

His hands cupped and stroked her arms and the bare portion of her back between the straps of her sundress.

Her hands tugged and untucked his shirt until she could work them underneath and stroke his stomach and side.

After a few long moments of snogging, Hermione pulled away with a gasp of air, looking up at him with glazed hazel eyes and biting at her swollen lower lip nervously. "Would you… would you like to move this to the bed?"

Theo looked down at her in surprise, his brows arching. "Yes, I would love to. Are you sure? Do you…?"

Hermione nods vigorously before gently but firmly pushing him from the couch and standing up herself. "Yes. Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway, glancing over her shoulder shyly.

Theo allowed her to pull him along until the reached the bedroom and, using their interlinked hands, tugged her back against his chest. He leaned in and kissed her neck before dragging his tongue along the exposed skin of her shoulder, nipping lightly at the curve leading down into her arm.

She gasped and sunk back into his body as her head fell back against his shoulder. Slowly, his hands wrapped around her waist before one caressed her stomach and along her ribs to cup her small breast. She was all slim and slender lengths and her breast fit right into the palm of his hand.

The feel of his warm hand stroking and rubbing her sensitive nipple through the thin material of her sundress caused Hermione to shudder and moan embarrassingly loudly. When he chuckled against her throat and pinched, she cried out and thrust her arse back against his swollen cock through his pants. "Oh! Don't tease, Theo."

"No, no teasing, Hermione." He stepped back just enough to reach out and tug the dress from her body, staring down at her as he reveals almost every inch of her skin. The only thing she was wearing underneath the dress was a pair of thin cotton knickers with tiny lace details along the edges and a pretty little pink bow at the top.

She whimpered when he stripped her dress from her, her hands reaching up to cover herself before he caught her and pushed them back down. "No hiding, either. You're beautiful."

Theo stepped close again and leaned down, kissing her slowly, lips brushing over hers, until he grasped her arse and picked her up easily. Walking until he reached the bed, he kissed her one last time before setting her on the duvet.

Hermione gasped and shivered as he picked her up and moved her where he wanted her easily, as though she weighed nothing, before reaching out and unbuttoning his trousers. Theo had already tugged off his socks and was working on removing his thin undershirt as she undid his trousers.

She tugged them down and leaned forward, kissing the flat of his stomach just above the line of his pants before she tugged them down as well, with a bit more care to avoid the swollen bulge of his cock.

Theo shifted and kicked his trousers and pants off, before reaching out and hurriedly tugging her knickers down her legs as well.

It only took a few moments before they were both completely naked.

Hermione dug out a package from the side table and removed a foil package. Ripping it out she reached out and stroked her fingers along his swollen cock, looking up at him from under her lashes when she flicked her tongue out and lapped up the bit of clear liquid beading at the tip.

Theo growled softly as she sucked at the head of his penis, swirling her tongue around it like a lollipop before she pulled away and rolled the condom down his length securely. Once it was in place, she slid back on the bed with a coy smile up at him.

He crawled onto the bed, pushing her back until he was nestled between her thighs, leaning down and kissing her voraciously, his tongue plunging into her mouth and swirling around hers.

Hermione arched and tugged him down on top of her, moaning at the weight of his warm body pressing her down into the mattress. She kissed him back, carding her fingers through his silky brown hair as the pushed into one another.

Theo ground his hips against hers, sliding his throbbing cock against her pussy, both of them releasing a moan at the feel of her wetness coating him. "Fuck, you're so hot… are you sure?" He pulled his head back a little to look down at the petite woman beneath him who nodded hard.

"Do it now, Theo, please! I'm so wet; I can't wait any longer!" She whined and arched into him again, circling her hips so that her pussy was moving along his length in a pantomime of penetration.

He hissed and reached down, one hand grasping her hip and the other gripping his cock. "Hold still, love, just a bit." He rubbed the blunt tip along her opening, nudging against her clit gently at first and then again harder, all while grinning at her moans.

"Theo! Now!" Her hands clutched at him, one on his shoulders and the other in his hair. When he thrust into her, shoving the entire length of his substantial cock into her, she screamed.

Theo gasped, bowing his head down beside hers as he froze in place for a long moment. "Holy fuck, you're so tight." He groaned when her pussy clenched around him, shuddering. "Don't do that, or this will be over much sooner than either of us would like." He laughed a little, breathlessly, until she relaxed around his cock.

Slowly, he withdrew with a hiss, before driving back in steadily. Hunching down awkwardly, due to their height difference, he tilted his head and bit down on a swollen brown nipple, making Hermione cry out and dig her nails into his shoulder.

She moaned loudly at a particularly good thrust, and Theo shifted to accommodate her, doing it again and again, until she screamed his name.

Hermione hooked her legs around his waist as he continued to fuck her, his hands gripping the edge of the mattress for leverage. Her hot sheath was fluttering, and she could feel her orgasm building as Theo continued to pound into her. The ridge of his cock was pushing against _that_ spot inside of perfectly, working her up higher and higher.

When he angled her hips a little higher so he could lean down and tongue a nipple, he scraped her just right and sent her over the edge with a scream. " _Theo_!"

Theo grunted as her cunt seized up around his swollen cock, groaning almost painfully as he continued to stroke into her a few more times before his own orgasm swelled up and burst from him with a strangled cry.

They shuddered together until he almost collapsed fully on top of her, panting into her damp curls as he trembled. Her hands stroked along his back as she slowly relaxed back into the bed, gasping softly.

"That was… brilliant." She laughed softly and pressed her mouth to his chest before he shifted back slowly.

"Amazing." Theo pulled back slowly, leaning down to kiss her mouth again languidly before he pulled back completely. "Let me just…" He motions with a little blush before withdrawing from her with a hiss.

Hermione groaned softly when he pulled out of her before she rolled onto her side to watch him walk into the bathroom, completely nude. She grinned a little at the sight of his arse, watching him move around her bathroom, disposing of the condom and washing his hands, before he walked back into the bedroom and flopped down onto the bed beside her.

Theo reached out and tugged her back into his arms, kissing her again, before settling on the mattress.

She smiled and tucked her arm around his chest, looking up at him as he pulled a sheet from the wreckage of her bedding and pulled it over their naked forms. "You're beautiful too."

He laughed softly and stroked her hair back from her face, smiling down at her. "Well, thank you, but I think the sex may have addled your brains."

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes as she pushed herself completely against him, sighing happily at the way their bodies fit together, his so much longer. "You certainly have a high opinion of yourself."

"Only because you've enabled me." He grinned and kissed her temple, letting his eyes drift closed. "I'm afraid you won't be able to get rid of me now…"

Hermione smiled and watched him drift to sleep in the dim room. "The sentiment is returned, I promise you."

"Mmm. Good." Theo mumbled and tugged her in even closer, their bodies wrapped around one another's and practically impossible for an outsider to see where one began, and the other ended.


End file.
